Yu-Gi-Oh NeXus
by SolarMagicianLVX
Summary: An original series based years after Yugi and his friends adventures. Follow Samson and his friends around the high-tech Millenia City, and investigate the mysterious Calrin, chairman of HueTech and sponsor of the Duel Monsters Tournament Supreme


**Yu-Gi-Oh Nexus**

 **Chapter 1: Eschaton Vs. Precious-Eyes**

Part 1

Sparks spat across the sandy wasteland as the two swords collided. The wielder's of the swords slid away from each other, dust spraying from their feet as the impact of their attacks sent them flying backwards.

Above the battle was a giant sun which radiated heat down on the land, so hot it was close to being unbearable. The bright light seemed to reflect up off the dusty earth back to the blood-red sun. There wasn't even a hint of moisture in the air, let alone a cloud to drift past the burning rays of this goliath star.

The land was devoid of any life for as far as the eye could see, apart from 4 figures locked in their intense battle. With identical armor, other than one all in black and the other all in white, these sword-wielders weren't traditional Knights. Their armor was futuristic; a constant buzz of electrical energy being emitted from their strange steely shells. The only visible skin of the Knights was pale, grey and stretched around their soulless eyes.

Behind the black Knight was a man. His skin was also grey and his face was gaunt. He wore a turban made of wires and tubing. The wires fed down into his robe which barely covered the strange electrical implants coming in and out of his skin. Visible on his arm was a blade of light, just like a Duel Disk. On the blade of light was just 1 Duel Monster card named " _Eschaton Knight_ ".

"Attack again _Eschaton Knigh_ _t_ , with your Final Blade attack!" he called to the black Knight.

The Knight's head raised in recognition of the command and he once again lifted his sword, before charging at the white Knight.

Behind the white knight was a man, almost identical to the other man except for 1 notable thing. Unlike the man controlling the _Eschaton Knight_ , who had dead, pitch-black eyes, this man had bright, shining blue eyes. They glowed with passion and courage, so much so that the colour was reflecting off the back of the white knight. He too had a beam of light attached to his arm, using it as a Duel Disk. On this was two face-down cards in his Spell and Trap zone towards his body, and 1 face-up monster: " _Katechon Knight_ ".

"You believe you can win with just brute strength, Al-Ruh?" the man with the glowing eyes boomed. His voice filled the void of the Desert wasteland.

"Your pathetic spells and traps just delay your demise, Al-Gat! My _Eschaton Knight_ has an attack power of 3050, whereas your _Katechon Knight_ has a power of 2050 - your last move just delayed my Knight slaying yours!" shouted the man named Al-Ruh.

"That's what you think, brother." Al-Gat smiled, which seemed to make his blue glowing eyes bloom into an even brighter light, competing with the sun above them. "Your attack has activated my Trap card." Al-Gat's thin and nimble fingers flipped over one of the face-down cards to reveal a purple card. It appeared to start to glow and glitter as energy surged from his Duel Disk; it was like the card was coming to life.

"You have activated my card: _Lastever Prayer_. This card blocks your attack and destroys your monster, but next turn my monsters are destroyed and my life points are reduced to zero." The glowing of his eyes faded slightly, as his smile faded. "I have 1 turn to defeat you or this truly will be the Last Millennium."

Al-Ruh started laughing. "I still have 2700 life points, your monster can take 2050 away from, but no more. You have lost Al-Gat."

A flash of light burst forth, as a woman appeared from the trap card. She was covered in a few rags with her hands clasped around a golden ring. It was the spirit of the card _Lastever Prayer_. As soon as the energy of her summoning subsided, she started to whisper what sounded like an ancient language under her breath. As she continued to whisper her near silent prayer the golden ring she gripped tightly started to shine and glow. The glow grew and grew, before it erupted as a golden blast of lightning from the center of the ring.

The blast impacted on _Eschaton Knight_ causing flames and bright bursts of electrical energy to burst from his chest where the lightning hit him. His eyes widened in realization and fear, before his entire body both disintegrated and explode in one moment. The woman from the _Lastever Prayer_ card faded away.

"Very well, I end my turn." announced Al-Ruh. He smirked looking his opponent up and down. Al-Gat looked exhausting, the use of _Lastever Prayer_ seemed to have drained him of his own energy, his eyes continued to shine but seemed to flicker as if they were to soon fade.

A small spiral of energy appeared at the tip of Al-Gat's Duel Disk made completely of light; he moved his hand near the portal and out flew a tattered Duel Monster card. He put it with the other 4 cards in his hand. His eyes scanned over all of his hand. It took a second for him to realize what card he had just drew.

"It finishes before it even began…" he muttered. He took the card and slammed it on his bright blue Duel Disk. Al-Ruh couldn't make out the card from the distance but it looked like a Spell card, except instead the usual green colouration it appeared to be made of pure gold; a mineral that had long been extinct from the world they lived in.

Al-Gat's Duel Disk rippled and expanded. His Duel Disk slowly transitioned from the bright blue to a golden-yellow color that burned to look at. The light being emitted from the device made Al-Ruh soul cower, as his body shuddered.

48 consecutive explosions of light covered Al-Ruh and Al-Gat's battlefield. On the 49th, the world went blank and dark. They had disappeared. Samson floated above the ravaged land, completely alone.

Part 2

Samson's eyes opened the light from his slightly apart curtains. The beam sliced through his eye lids and across his face. As the rays entered his eyes, the dream of the battle between the two men in the wasteland faded into a vague forgotten memory.

Samson Haruto, or Sam to his friends, pushed his bright red hair out of his view. Across his bed he could see the bleary green light of his alarm clock. He watched as the numerals 07:59 flickered out of existence and 08:00 flickered in to life. And with the new time came a great, loud SCREECH.

The noise was so loud; Sam fell out of his bed. He scrambled to slam the top of his clock in order to silence the noise.

A few minutes later Sam jumped out of the shower and ran down the corridor in his towel. He opted for his usual outfit; dark blue jeans, a crisp, white, shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black waistcoat with blue buttons and piping around his pockets and the edges. He wiped wax into his hair, to style it into his trademark spikes, before putting on his black straps on right arm and his gold and blue Duel Disk on his left arm.

He quickly admired himself in the mirror. It was mid-summer, and he had already done a lot of yardwork for his aunt, so his usually darker, tanned skin was looking especially radiant. He looked out the window at the blue sky over the city. He could see the many skyscrapers of Millenia City from his room, being as this house he lived in was in the middle of a Millenia City housing estate.

"SAMSON! YOUR FRIEND IS HERE!" a yell reverberated down the corridor of the foster home, making Sam jump from his daydream. It was Aunt Gem, who looked after all the children in the home.

Samson had been in the home for a long time. With no other family living in the country and his parents disappearing, his elderly great aunt had no choice but to have him stay in the foster home she looked owned. He had lived with her for 13 years, Sam having just turned 15 years old. Other children would come and go while Sam would be under the constant care of his Aunt Gem. As he had got older, he had started taking on more and more jobs. He earnt his pocket money from his aunt, scrubbing floors, cleaning dishes, and clearing the garden.

The foster home was large, living in the middle of a large industrial estate in Millenia City. It was surrounded by medium high walls to protect the larger-than-usual gardens it had as an inner city home. The house itself could house up 25 children, with around 20 being in the home at any one time (excluding Samson of course).

"I'M COMING NOW!" shouted Samson back down the corridor towards the stairs that lead to the front hall. Sam scraped his Duel Monster cards together to form today's deck. Much like the rest of the world, Sam was obsessed with the old game Duel Monsters, and spent every spare penny he had on buying cards. He was an accomplished duelist, using his trademark " _Scorched Desert_ " deck. It had taken him years to get the deck together, and then he continued collecting and trading and now he has so many cards that he can adjust and change his deck to almost any situation. However, it is always based around his favorite card: " _Solar Magician_ ".

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he was greeted by the familiar booming voice of his friend.

"COME ON SAM, WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" Gonk, or Gonzalo Cenk, towered over Sam by a good foot, and always had, despite being only a few weeks older. It seemed whenever Sam had a growth spurt, Gonk would have one the very next day.

Gonk's jet black hair was always a mess as it was so curly and unruly. His skinny frame made him look taller, so he opted to wear a puffy, grey-green Gillette to bulk him up. He too was wearing a shirt, but it was long sleeved and a light camo-green color. Both contrasted with his bright stonewashed jeans. On his left wrist was also his folded up Duel Disk, a green trimmed one which was otherwise black.

The troublesome twosome, Sam and Gonk, had been friends for as long as either could remember, with Gonk's family home just behind the foster home They both went to the same school, Millenia High. They shared many classes with their other friends, they both shared a huge appetite, and they shared the jobs Samson got from his aunt (as well as the pocket money) - but the biggest thing they shared was their love for Duel Monsters.

There wasn't a more fearless duelist than Gonk, often getting into duels way out of his league due to his big mouth. He used a deck made of " _Warmech_ " monsters and spells, which made use of Synchro summons to produce powerful Machine-type monsters of destruction. Sam and Gonk were evenly matched when it came to dueling, with the current score being 1,222 wins to Gonk and 1,224 wins to Samson, although Gonk is adamant that one of those didn't count as he was feeling ill that day so couldn't "bring the fire" to that Duel.

"What will you be late for dear?" asked aunt Gem, cleaning her glasses as her grandnephew arrived in the hall way.

"We're going to see a Duel aunty!" exclaimed Samson, excitement rising with each word. "Do you remember Lani?" his great aunt nodded. Lani had lived in the foster home for 2 years before she was adopted by a rich family in one of the big houses at the end of the estate. They were very wealthy and new to town. They had mentioned that they wanted to start afresh, and Lani was the icing on their perfect new life.

"Of course dear I remember everyone who I've looked after. Isn't she now some hot shot in drooling monsters?" aunt Gem smirked, as she knew full well the mistake she had made. Gonk gasped and gagged at the incorrect name.

"You mean Duel Monsters Aunty" replied an exasperated Sam. "She's the city and national champion, and it's likely she's going to become world champion soon!"

"What has this got to do with where you are going?" wondered Aunt Gem, her glasses now clean, she started to tidy some of the younger children's toys that cluttered the hall.

"A new, mysterious guy is starting a tournament here in Millenia City, and before it all kicks off next week, he has challenged Lani to a Duel. It's happening in the Duel City Arena across town at 09:30." explained Gonk, trying to be helpful to aunt Gem as usual.

"Well, wish her luck for me lads!" aunt Gem beamed, "although I doubt you'll see her beforehand…"

"Why not aunty?" enquired Samson.

"It's 09:23 now…"

With a great, booming goodbye to aunt Gem, Gonk grabbed Samson by the collar and dragged him out of the house at an almost inhuman top pace. The two had 7 minutes to do a 20-minute walk to the Millenia City "Duel City Arena", as they certainly didn't want to be late. This Duel was the most exciting thing to happen to Millenia City in a long while.

Part 3

They arrived just in time for the match to kick off. The two opponent's stepped up to their dueling platforms, opting for the arenas far superior graphical holograms to illustrate their battle, rather than using their Duel Disks and virtual reality eye pieces.

Lani was wearing her usual get-up. Her pale ivory dress was covered in flowery details of the same color, her arms protected by a denim shirt. She always tied her long, beachy brown hair into a bun before her duels, so it didn't get in the way of her destroying her opponent. Her jewelry glistened in the arena's bright lights as she placed her Duel Deck into the dueling platforms play mat. It automatically shuffled her cards.

"Are you ready Lani Peninnah?" announced the commentator, hidden in a box above the arena. She nodded bravely before staring her opponent up and down.

The bright white PVC jacket of her opponent glistened under the hot lighting, in stark contrast to his dark shirt. His hair was a dark blue hue, spiky and choppy like a shorter version of Sam's. He placed his Duel Deck into the platform's slot and stared back into Lani's eyes. His were a brilliant blue, a color Lani hadn't seen before. She put it down to contact lens, they were that bright and stunning.

Lani was about the same age as Samson and Gonk, at around 15, whereas this guy was a bit older, maybe 17 or 18. He noticed Lani consider him which made him smirk and his eyes narrow.

"Calrin Hueson, are you ready?" asked the announcer. Lani's opponent nodded as well. "Then; IT'S TIME TO DUEL!"

The crowd cheered loudly as the Duel arena's holographic projectors booted up. As the two duelist each drew a hand of 6 cards, a holographic coin appeared in the center of the arena, with 1 red side and 1 blue side. These corresponded to the color of the trim of the platforms the duelists stood on. Lani was red, Calrin was blue. The holographic coin jumped high into the air of the arena, spinning wildly and staying in midair briefly before slamming down to the ground with the red side face-up. Lani had won the toss and was to go first.

She drew a card from her deck and added it to her hand.

"I'll begin with this monster in attack mode; Go _Precious-Eyes Baby Dragon #1_!" yelled Lani across the arena, the microphones picking up her voice and broadcasting it across the room.

The holographic projectors whirled into life again, a card appearing in Lani's center monster zone which burst forth with a small, crystal red Dragon, with tiny wings and a stubby tail, his eyes flashed a luminous white, gold and silver glow. These glowing eyes were the trademark of Lani's favorite type of monster, the " _Precious-Eyes Dragons_ ". As the monster performed its summoning animation, the screens above the stadium blinked into life. These screens displayed information on the face-up cards on the field for the audience to learn more about what was being used. The screen popped up with information about _Precious-Eyes Baby Dragon #1_. It was level 3, a dragon-type effect monster. It had an attack power of 1500 and defense power of 1000.

"As it's been successfully Summoned, it's effect activates which allows me to find 1 Dragon-Type monster from my deck and put it in my hand." Lani informed her opponent. She typed on the small keyboard on the platform display, causing the card she wanted to pop out of a slot below the deck. As were the rules, the deck was shuffled by the advanced machine. Lani took the card and put it in her hand. "As this is my first turn, I can't attack you yet, but next turn my Dragons will be ready. I place one card face-down in my Spell and Trap zone, and end my turn!"

Calrin smirked even more. He drew his card in silence. And poured over his hand. His eyes narrowed as he formulated his plan.

"An impressive monster indeed Miss Peninnah," Calrin announced moving his cards in his hands ready for his attack, "but I don't think you are ready for the power of my _Katechon Knight_!" he placed a monster card on the field as it burst into life thanks to the holographic projectors.

Samson went cold and the cheering audience around him faded out of his focus. The technologically advanced Knight that now stood before him seemed so familiar. He looked up at the stats that had appeared on the screens. Level 4. Warrior-type. Effect monster. Attack power 2050. Defense power 1050.

Samson's mind wondered around trying to find where he knew this great white monster from, and more importantly, why it made him feel a sense of dread. The lights felt like a hot sun beating down on Samson's skin as he focused in and out.

"And now it's time for my monster TO ATTACK!" Calrin's voice snapped Samson back into reality. The _Katechon Knight_ Calrin controlled lifted its great sword and focused its eyes on its target before charging towards it.

"You've activated my trap!" exclaimed a pleased Lani. "Go, _Precious-Eyes Spirit Barrier_!" Her Trap card revealed itself glowing and glinting like her baby dragon's eyes. " _Precious-Eyes Spirit Barrier_ requires me to discard 1 _Precious-Eyes_ monster from my hand in order to negate your monsters attack and effects targeting any _Precious-Eyes_ monsters on the field, namely my _Baby Dragon #1_!"

She flicked a monster card from her hand on to the Graveyard zone of her platform's playing mat. Suddenly out the trap card on the field ruptured a great haze of energy, it formed around Lani's monster in the shape of a dragon. The blue-green energy flashed and fazed, with the only part looking constant was the _Precious-Eyes_ dragon eyes, glowing white, gold and silver. The _Katechon Knight_ 's sword collided with the blue-green energy, the energy protecting the baby dragon from any harm. The impact caused a flux of the energy to head towards the sword. The build-up was fast, condensing around the sword before exploding outwards, pushing _Katechon Knight_ back towards to Calrin's side of the field.

"An impressive attack indeed, Miss Peninnah," Calrin announced, "but all you have done is delayed your demise."

" _Delayed your demised._ " The words echoed in Sam's mind.

"I will place 1 card face-down in my Spell and Trap zone and also end my turn." Calrin announced. With the ending of his turn the giant dragon made of energy disappeared and faded away. The audience exploded with a roar of cheering, Gonk screaming words of encouragement over most of the other voice to both duellists. However, Sam stood silently still, staring at the _Katechon Knight_. Why had he seen this unknown monster before?

"Then it's my turn." broadcasted Lani. She drew a card; she smiled and thanked whoever was watching over her that it was another one of her important cards. "I start by tributing my _Baby Dragon #1_ so I can summon one of my strongest monsters. Let's finish this now, _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_!" Lani's baby dragon burst into a burning red flame, as tiny rubies spiralled around the monster. The flame got bigger and bigger, with the rubies being absorbed into the flame. Suddenly the flame exploded out, disappearing to reveal a large dragon. Its skin was rocky and rough but shiny like the rubies that had been seen. It had large claws with glistening and transparent like they were actually made of ruby. Its eyes were like the babies, softly glowing white, gold and silver. It stretched its impressive wing-span, and snapped it's long, thick tail before letting lose an almighty roar. The crowd in the arena went wild, as the card's stats appeared on the screen. This giant Dragon-type was also an effect monster, but was level 9 and had a massive attack power of 3500 and an impressive 2000 defence power.

"Your skills are impressive, but predictable Miss Peninnah," joked Calrin, "I knew you would use your powerful dragons. As impressive as they are, they are vulnerable. You have activated my trap card: _Broken Temple Ceiling_." His set card flipped face-up revealing a picture of the famous _Blue-Eyes White Dragon_ being crushed by rocks. As the card was revealed, the holographic projectors created giant pieces of rock that fell directly on top of Lani's _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_. "You see; this trap card activates when any player summons a Level 5 or above monster. As long as it is on the field monster who are Level 5 and above get trapped under the temple's roof pieces, causing them to go into the defence position and being unable to move out of it. If your monster were to attack, it would easily destroy my _Katechon Knight_ , but now it's in the defence mode…"

"Your _Katechon Knight_ has enough power to destroy my _Ruby Dragon_!" exclaimed a shocked Lani. She couldn't believe it, such a simple card has left her opponent at a rather large advantage: destroying her dragon would leave her defenceless, and he could easily summon another Level 4 or lower monster and attack her life points directly. As this battle was observing the future tournament's rules, she only had 4000 life points to start with. She could only last a few rounds like that before she would be out. She needed to work out what to do and fast!

"As my dragon cannot attack, I will put this card face-down in my spell/trap zone and end my turn." Lani announced, already sounding defeated.

"And just like that, the national champ is about to be defeated by this newcomer." Laughed Calrin. "Very well I will take my turn now." He drew a card and put it in his hand. His eyes widened in anticipation of his victory. "I too will tribute my monster. Tributing _Katechon Knight_ allows me to Special Summon this very strong monster; come forth _Eschaton Knight_!"

The shadow at the foot of _Katechon Knight_ appeared to come to life. Like a hungry snake, it slithered up and along the knight's legs, before creeping up and up until the knight's entire body was covered in a shadowy mist. Then the mist got darker and darker, as if to shade the knight from view. Finally, the knight lifted his heavy sword and burst through the shadowy cocoon, which dissipated into nothingness. Not much seemed to have changed, but the crowd had grown silent at the monster that stood before them. The knight had become a foot taller, and wasn't in a glistening white armour. Now the knight's armour was pitch-black. His entire energy seemed to shift from something somewhat heroic, to something that felt serious, dark and scary. The screens lit up once again with the new monster's stats. It was still a Warrior-type, but this monster was Level 8, it's attribute had changed from being a LIGHT monster to a DARK monster. Its power had also increased, now wielding an attack power of 3050 and a defence of 2050.

This monster also seemed unusually familiar to Sam. His anxiety and fear grew in his stomach, like it was melting away to form a tempestuous void empty of everything except worrying distress.

"Ah! Now your Level 8 monster will be crushed by _Broken Temple Ceiling_ just like my dragon!" a glimmer of hope returning to Lani's eyes.

"That's untrue; I'm afraid Miss Peninnah. _Eschaton Knight_ 's special ability means that it is unaffected by Trap cards." Calrin said, his becoming slightly manic and fast-paced.

"That was also just a Special Summon due to _Eschaton Knight_ 's special ability. I can still normal summon one level 4 or less monster to the field, so I choose: _Katechon Dragon_!" yelled Calrin. From the card newly placed on the field burst a dragon, about the same size as _Eschaton Knight_. It too was wearing armour of a similar fashion. It wheezed and snorted smoke out of its mouth and nostrils as once again the crowd went wild. This was a LIGHT attribute dragon-type, level 4 with an attack and defence power of 1550. "And now to finish you." Smirked an even cockier Calrin. "First I activate the effect of _Katechon Dragon_. Use your Final Breath attack!" The dragon lifted its head in recognition before taking flight. It flew high up into the air, before dive-bombing down towards Lani's _Ruby Dragon_.

"My dragon's defence is higher than your monster's attack! You won't win!" Lani was sure this was a false move by Calrin.

"That's where you are wrong my dear. My _Katechon Dragon_ has a special ability that means once per turn, instead of attacking normally, it can just destroy 1 effect monster on the field. And as your _Ruby Dragon_ is an effect monster…" as he spoke the _Katechon Dragon_ opened its mouth breathing out what looked like black volcanic ash with flecks of purple, orange and green light. The smog hit Lani's _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ causing the beast to roar loudly in pain, the flecks of light bursting into bolts of energy. Suddenly, the _Precious-Eyes_ monster disintegrated into the smog. It was gone. And Lani was defenceless.

"And now _Eschaton Knight_ , let's take away her life points!" Calrin cackled aloud. The black armoured knight lifted its sword as it focused its eyes directly on Lani. It launched forward with pace, slashing its great long sword at the platform. The platform shook as if it was actually hit by the sword, as Lani watched her life point counter roll backwards from 4000 to 950. She couldn't take much more of that. Another hit like that, and she had lost. "I put 1 more card face-down in my spell/trap zone and end my turn." The joy in Calrin's eyes subsided as he placed the card face-down and a calm, cool persona returned from the feverish one that had developed moments ago.

"I draw." Lani was desperate. She needed to pull this out of the bag, she wouldn't recover from a loss like this. It was the card _Mystical Space Typhoon_. She could use that to get rid of the Continuous Trap Card… maybe then she was in with a chance? "I start by activating _Mystical Space Typhoon_ , so I can destroy your trap card _Broken Temple Ceiling_!" As the card hit the playing mat on the platform, the crowds cheered at her move. From Lani's spell and trap zone on the holographic field a card appeared, from which a torrent of blue and white dust blasted forwards towards Calrin's side of the field. It shattered the seemingly brittle trap card on Calrin's side of the field blowing the holographic dust at him. Calrin smirked again.

"Do you think that move was worth it Miss Peninnah? All you have done is destroyed my trap, and for what? You don't have a monster in your deck that can stand up to my monsters!" Calrin said, his voice sounding frustrated, like he was getting bored. Something in Lani snapped; there was nothing she wanted more now than to rub this stuck-up nobody's face in an almighty comeback.

"That's what you think! Next I activate another spell card; _Monster Reborn_! This brings back my _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ from the Graveyard and to my side of the field!" As the spell card activated, a magical circle of strange and unusual runes and drawings appeared on the ground. As the circle grew a hole in the ground of the field opened up revealing the dark shadows and turbulent dark blue static of the Graveyard's dimension. Like a bolt of lightning, in a flash of glowing ruby-red, the giant dragon soared out of the hole roaring causing the entire room to shake before gliding above the field, towering over both of Calrin's monsters.

"Your dragon is most impressive, Miss Peninnah, but I am afraid it is still useless against my monsters!" Calrin smirked as he once again got more and more manic.

"You might have tricks up your sleeve, but so do I!" Lani shouted, ready to burst, "Go _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ , activate your effect: Precious Ruby Spirit!" Lani sent 1 of her Dragon-Type monsters from her hand to the Graveyard with a great victorious slam. "By sending a dragon to the Graveyard, my dragon can use that monster's spirit to increase the attack power of all Dragon-Type monsters on the field by 1000 until the end of your next turn! That means my _Precious-Eyes_ will have a power of 4500!"

Her colossal dragon started to glow, every inch of the monster glowed with a haze like ruby-red energy, except for its eyes. Its eyes looked like they were burning a bright white-hot energy with spurs of silver and gold flaring out from their centres. Suddenly the haze burst from around the dragon and overwhelmed the entire field. A second past before the faint ruby-red glow surrounded her dragon again… but it also surrounded Katechon Dragon. The screens flashed once again, showing that _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ 's attack power had indeed raised from 3500 to 4500; but so did _Katechon Dragon_ 's attack power, raising from 1550 to 2550.

Lani was all fired up, her arms straining, her fingers gripped her Duel Monster cards like a vice. "NOW _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ ATTACK _Eschaton Knight_ WITH RUBY INFERNO!"

The dragon immediately obeyed, opening its giant jaws as fire started to spurt out of the monster's throat. The flames were a deep red, even the very tips of the blaze. The dragon lined up its mouth with Calrin's _Eschaton Knight_ , which looked on without fear. With a great raging roar, the dragon discharged a huge explosion of the dark ruby fire, which completely engulfed the knight. The flames swirled and grew around the knight as the dragon receded from the firestorm it had started. The flames expanded so much, that the _Katechon Dragon_ had to move out of the way. The inferno burst open, revealing just a thick black smoke where the _Eschaton Knight_ had once stood.

The crowd applauded as Calrin's Life Points rolled down from 4000 to 2550. His eyes didn't even flicker. In fact, his smirk remained. "Do you think that _Eschaton Knight_ 's legacy won't live on?" he asked, patronisingly, "you've activated its other ability. When _Eschaton Knight_ enters battle in the attack position, regardless of the outcome, the opposing monster is destroyed." As Calrin spoke, the black smoke that drifted up from where _Eschaton Knight_ once stood started to create a vortex of smoke and dust. Sam felt a compulsion to look deep inside the swirling smoke, where he swears he could see the faint outline of the _Eschaton Knight_ standing, looking fearsome with its sword poised to strike. Without warning, the vortex launched towards _Precious-Eyes Ruby Dragon_ engulfing it. The dragon exploded and disintegrated at once, and the vortex again became black smoke which dissipated from the field.

"And I have far stronger monsters than that, and yet he nearly brought you to your knees. Finish your move, so I can finish this match." Calrin spit.

Lani nodded, "I end my turn. Let me see you face the almighty power of my _Precious-Eyes_ deck now that knight is finally vanquished!" She was nervous, but she didn't want Calrin to know.

"Very well, I draw!" Calrin declared. "First things, to upgrade my dragon…" Just like his _Katechon Knight_ , the shadow of _Katechon Dragon_ started to slide up its legs and tail, before the shadow thickened into an impenetrable shell around the dragon, lifting it into the air. "By tributing my _Katechon Dragon_ I can summon the terrifying _Eschaton Dragon_!" The cast of shadows shattered across the field as the renewed dragon emerged. It's body coverings were absent of its previous pearlescent white, and now the darkest shade of black. Its eyes appeared to suck in the light around them like black holes in space. It landed on the ground with a light thud as it eyed-up Lani's _Ruby Dragon_.

Lani gasped, the sight of the dragon caused her head and heart to pound. It was deadly silently in the arena, not one member of the crowd spoke as they all silently read the details of this new monster on the screens. Dragon-Type DARK effect monster, with 2550 attack and 2550 defence points. The dragon started to glow, a ruby haze covered its body. Lani knew the mistake she had made. She watched as the dragon's attack power had raised from 2550 to 3550.

"It appears that your dragon's legacy has lasted too, it's effect has boosted my monster's attack up by 1000 points as well, and I know that effect will last until the end of my turn. Not that it matters." He lowered his hand, before announcing to an arena filled with Duel Monster fans who waited with baited breath. "Fins this _Eschaton Dragon_ , Final Blast attack!"

The dragon's eyes stared into Lani's soul. It opened its mouth proudly, and let loose a gust of Black smokey ash that hit the platform causing it to shake rapidly. Green, orange and purple spheres in the smoke exploded into great bolts of energy as Lani's Life Points reduced from 950 to 0 before her eyes.

Part 4

Lani collapsed into the chair at the back of her platform lowered down to ground level below the field. The crowd was silent. She, the national champion, was just defeated by some rich kid nobody.

The dragon that defeated her was still on the field, and started to victoriously fly around the field, as Calrin's platform raised into the middle of the field.

"I, Calrin Hueson, am pleased to announce the start of HueTech's Millenia City's first Annual Duel Tournament Supreme! The rules of which I will now explain."

Lani was in shock, but her ears pricked up the idea of a tournament. She could regain the her own respect in this tournament.

Calrin smiled at a camera that had be broadcasting the battle across the internet which had now lowered from the ceiling and was on eye-level with him. "All duellists that register for the tournament start with 4000 battle points. Similar to Life Points, if they reach 0, you lose. But unlike Life Points you can exchange them for prizes, including entry into the Duel Tournament Supreme's Finalist duels in the secret Winner's Chamber."

Excited whispering could be heard from all over the arena, adults, children, everyone was excited by this tournament. Sam and Gonk looked at each other with blazing exciting in their eyes. Gonk winked at Sam. Sam nodded back at Gonk.

"If the battle you just witnessed was an official tournament match," Calrin continued, "then I would have earned an extra 2550 Battle Points because that's how many Life Points I had left. However, Miss Peninnah would have lost 2600 Battle points because that how many more points her Life Points would have gone down from my attack. She had 950 Life Points when _Eschaton Dragon_ attacked her with its 3550 attack points. 950 minus 3550 equals minus 2600, so that's how many points she loses." The _Eschton Dragon_ that had been showboating round the arena, flying and spinning, breathing holographic ash at the fans gave a final roar before it disappeared.

"Industrial Illusion's generous chairman has agreed that you can even exchange battle points you earn for cards at their appointed outlets. However, you need 10,000 battle points to get into the Winner's Chamber." Calrin's polite smile twinkled across the crowd. "All residents of Millenia City are valid to enter, you just need a deck and passion."

The crowds excited whispering had slowly increased into a raucous chatter of hopes and dreams. Calrin eyed around his competitors, before he caught the eye of a young boy, maybe 15, with dark tanned skin and bright red-and-orange hair staring at him in the eye. The boy's posture and look made him think he knew something. He would keep an eye on that one.

Sam's eyes locked with Calrin. His eyes turned from a quiet and polite confidence into a severe and passionate inquisitiveness, like he was trying to read Sam's thoughts. Calrin's head turned and he continued on.

"And with this phrase I start the Millenia City Battle Tournament Supereme; IT'S TIME TO DUEL!" As he spoke those 4 words, the crowd erupted and fireworks at the sides of the field went off in the rafters of the arena.

Calrin turned and smiled and nodded at Lani. And then, he did something she didn't expect. Like a defeated Duel Monster, he exploded and disintegrated. He was gone.


End file.
